This invention relates to a card connector for use in a various electric and electronic appliances such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), printers, card readers and the like for inputting and outputting signals into and from memory cards inserted into the card connector, and to a card connector having a structure achieving a reduced overall height of the card connector and being superior in safety of operation, and more particularly to a method for producing a housing assembly consisting of contacts, metal plates and a housing integrally formed as a unitary structure.
In recent years, with the wide spread use of digital cameras and the like, memory cards in compact shape having a large memory capacity have been used. A wide variety of memory cards have also been used depending upon characteristics and the like of appliances with which the memory cards are used, for example, SD card (Secure Digital memory card, registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “SD card”), Memory Stick card (registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “MS card”), SmartMedia card (registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “SM card”), CompactFlash card (registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “CF card”), xD card (registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “xD card”), Multimedia card (registered trademark, referred to hereinafter just as “MM card”), SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module card, registered trademark) and the like. Accordingly, as devices for writing and reading onto and from these various memory cards, memory card reader writers are increasingly being used in computers themselves or as peripheral devices.
Hitherto, in order to connect a memory card to an appliance, a card connector has generally been used.
Examples of card connectors are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-45,562 (push-push type card connector, Patent Literature 1) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-123,252 (Patent Literature 2) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-115,165 (Patent Literature 3) both using a tray.
Patent Literature 1
According to the abstract of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-45,562, this invention has an object to provide an IC card inserting and removing device into which an IC card is detachably inserted. Disclosed is an IC card inserting and removing device adapted to be incorporated in an electronic appliance, including a housing 100 and a cover 200 covering the housing 100 consisting of a frame portion 110 in the form of a substantially U-shape and a bottom surface 120 closing one side of the frame portion 110 whose opposed lengthwise frame portions 111a and 111b are formed in their inside surfaces with guide grooves 113, and contacts 130 for IC cards arranged in a bottom frame portion 111c, wherein a locking and ejecting mechanism 300 for IC cards is incorporated in one of the lengthwise frame portions 111a and 111b, thereby providing a superior card inserting and removing device which achieves miniaturization and simplification of used parts and enables an IC card to be stably held.
Incidentally, claim 1 of claims recites an IC card inserting and removing device to be incorporated in an electronic appliance, including a housing and a cover for covering the housing consisting of a frame portion in the form of a substantially U-shape and a bottom portion for reinforcing the frame portion, said frame portion having opposed lengthwise frame portions formed in their inner surfaces with guide grooves for the IC card, and contacts for IC cards arranged in a bottom frame portion perpendicularly crossing said lengthwise frame portions, wherein said device incorporates therein an IC card locking and ejecting mechanism provided on at least one of said lengthwise frame portions comprising a slider advancing and retracting in the same directions of the movements of said IC card upon its insertion and removal, pushing means for always pushing the slider toward the card inserting opening of said guide grooves for the IC card, a cam groove provided in said slider and being in the form of a substantially heart-shape, and a rockable spring pin having a free end engaging in the cam groove and the other end fixed to said bottom frame portion. Claim 2 recites the IC card inserting and removing device as claimed in claim 1, whose slider has an inclined surface portion against which a corner oblique portion of an IC card abuts. Claim 3 recites the IC card inserting and removing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, whose slider is adapted to slidably moved along guide rods provided on said lengthwise frame portions. Claim 4 recites the IC card inserting and removing device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, whose lengthwise frame portion not incorporating said IC card locking and ejecting mechanism is provided with a metal fitting having an elastic pressing piece elastically extending in the guide groove for the IC card so as to press the side face of the IC card. Claim 5 recites the IC card inserting and removing device as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, whose part of said cover is provided with an elastic pressing piece for pressing the surface of the IC card.
Patent Literature 2
According to the abstract of the Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-123,252, the object of this invention is to provide a card connector 10 enabling a reduced overall height of the connector with a simple construction, and this object can be achieved by a card connector 10 adapted to be connected to at least two cards 60 and including contacts 14 corresponding to the number of the cards 60, a tray 16 in which at least two cards 60 can be loaded, and a housing having a fitting opening 20 for receiving the tray 16 and arranging and holding said contacts 14. As a card connector 10 adapted to be connected to four cards 60, disclosed is a card connector including contacts 14 of four kinds, a tray 16 having a card loading portion 22 into which the four cards 60 can be loaded, and a housing 12 for arranging and holding the contacts 14 of four kinds and having a fitting opening 20 for receiving the tray 16.
Incidentally, claim 1 recites a card connector being connected to at least two cards, comprising contacts corresponding to the number of said cards, a tray into which at least two cards can be loaded, and a housing having a fitting opening for receiving said tray and arranging and holding said contacts. Claim 2 recites a card connector being connected to four cards, comprising contacts of four kinds, a tray having a card loading portion into which the four cards can be loaded, and a housing for arranging and holding said contacts of four kinds and having a fitting opening for receiving said tray. Claim 3 recites the card connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said tray is provided with the card loading portion having one part overlapping in relation to kinds of card other than one kind of card intended to be loaded in the card loading portion so as to allow the intended one kind of card only to be loaded in the card loading portion. Claim 4 recites the card connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said tray is provided with the card loading portion not having a part overlapping in relation to at least two kinds of cards so as to allow at least two kinds of cards to be loaded in the card loading portion and said tray is further provided with a card identification mechanism for identifying the cards to be used. Claim 5 recites the card connector as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said housing is provided with stopper means on the side of the fitting opening for preventing the tray from extending from the housing. Claim 6 recites the card connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a mechanism for drawing said tray to some extent relative to the housing by pushing said tray in the state that said tray has been inserted.
Patent Literature 3
According to the abstract of the Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-115,165, this invention has an object to provide a card connector which is miniaturized and lighter, more compact and simple in construction and is easy to remove a memory card. Disclosed is a card connector 10 into and from which a memory card 60 is detachably inserted and removed, including contacts 14 each adapted to contact a connection portion of the memory card 60, and a housing 12 for arranging and holding the contacts 14 and having an inserting opening 22 for inserting the memory card 60, wherein the housing 12 includes two side walls 24, a rear wall 26, and a lower wall 28 contiguous to these side and rear walls 24 and 26 to form the inserting opening 22 for the memory card 60 by these walls 24, 26 and 28, and a shell 16 is arranged on the side of the housing opposite from the lower wall 28, and an elastically deformable tray 18 is arranged on the lower wall 28 so as to be slidable with the aid of a tray restraining plate 20.
Incidentally, claim 1 recites a card connector into and from which a memory card is detachably inserted and removed, including contacts each adapted to contact a connection portion of the memory card, and a housing for arranging and holding said contacts and having an inserting opening for inserting the memory card, wherein said housing comprises two side walls, a rear wall, and a lower wall contiguous to these side and rear walls to form said inserting opening for said memory card by the two side walls, the rear wall, and the lower wall, and wherein a shell is arranged on the side of the housing opposite from said lower wall, and an elastically deformable tray is arranged on said lower wall so as to be slidable with the aid of a tray restraining plate. Claim 2 recites the card connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tray is made of a metal having an elasticity in the form of a plate and comprises at one free end an operating portion extending from the end face of said lower wall when said memory card has been loaded so that said tray is slidably moved by drawing said operating portion. Claim 3 recites the card connector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said tray comprises erroneous fitting preventing means and positioning means for said memory card. Claim 4 recites the card connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said tray is formed as a plate-shaped piece so that a space is provided below the lower surface of said memory card when said tray has been drawn from the housing.
Recently, with the miniaturization of appliances, the need for connectors to be more miniaturized has become stronger, and nowadays even a connector having a height of less than 2 mm is pursued. On the other hand, as the connector becomes lighter and more compact, it would become difficult to insert and remove a memory card into and from the connector. Under such circumstances, the connectors constructed as disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 to 3 could not realize the miniaturization of the connector such as a height of less than 2 mm owing to the number and thicknesses of parts and structural problems. As a general trend of the technical field, moreover, requirements for improving the safety of operation and preventing erroneous fitting of memory cards have become stronger.